Wednesday, July 06, 2011

Macarthur –Good Stuffe

Macarthur –Good Stuffe/Parentship Relation –Vertigo 603793 (1976 Aus)

As a rule of thumb, many Aussie 70s singles sound like they could have been released 2-3 years earlier than their actual release dates, but in the case of this Macarthur single it’s hard to sonically put an actual date on it. It just sounds just dandy whatever the year... Coming on a bit like early Dragon with a twist of Twister (more on them soon!), Macarthur walk the nether land between Hard Rock, Teen and Glam with no small amount of skill. Hot Stuffe is as much about pounding Boogie as it is about melodic flair, whilst Parentship Relation adds a certain harmonised Freakbeat dimension to the mix. It’s a bit New Wavey as well! Both tunes are top in any case, and I’m not sure which one I prefer. It appears that Macarthur were an Adelaide band who were in existence between 1969 and 1977 and were most likely formed from the ashes of The Why Four. Was anything else released by Macarthur?

Hi MacArthur recorded Good Stuffe in 1976 at EMI studios in Sydney and was written by Roy Clayton the lead singer. The B side was written by Rick Harrison, lead guitarist who enjoyed earlier fame writing the song Louise, which was recorded by the James Wright Band. MacArthur did their last show in 1982 which I have a recording off. It was a great shock after that show when Roy said it was our last show. Roy Clayton in my eyes had the greatest voice I have ever heard and could rip into a Hollies or Beatles song like no one else. Roy passed away in 1992, as a mate he is missed but his voice still lives in the recordings I have.

I played bass with this band from some time in 1976 until early 77. Last gig was at Tunarama at Port Lincoln over the Australia Day weekend Jan '77. We did a demo recording of a couple of Rick's songs. The only one I recall was something about being stuck "between the devil and the deep blue sea". Rick flew to Sydney to tout the demo but when push came to shove not all the guys wanted to risk quitting their day jobs to go on the road. Sorry to hear that Roy is no longer with us.

My name is Ric, I was the bass player with Macarthur for about 4 years during which time we recorded several songs I think it was in a studio in North Adelaide the sessions included Good Stuffe & Parentship Relation along with a few others. The name Max rings a bell re the engineer at the studio. It was never recorded in Sydney. Phonogram signed us up & sent the tapes we had done to Sydney to be mastered. The band was probably one of the best I ever have worked with.Rolling Stone magazine wrote - "They harmonise like the Hollies & boggie like Status Quo" in a write up on the band. I have lost touch with all the guy's having moved to Qld in 1982. It was not until early 2000's I heard of Roy's passing, & was deeply shocked. He was a very good singer,& it was a pleasure to play with Roy Rick & David.

Reviews of tasty and obscure hook-filled rock'n' roll releases (Glam, Heavy Bonehead Crunchers, Powerpop, Pop/psych,Garage, Surf, 60s Girl Group Rock)...Plus any quirky musings that tickle my fancy...
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